What Happens in Vegas Gets Reported on By Lots of People on the Internet

What Happens in Vegas Gets Reported on By Lots of People on the Internet

Baseball big wigs are in Las Vegas this week to wheel and deal and try to position their respective rosters to do what the Phillies did in 2008: win the world fricking championship. Not much of note has taken place besides the retirement of Greg Maddox.

We did hear one rumor of a Mets beat writer playing poker at the Mirage with Phillies scribe David Murphy of the Daily News. Murphy was reportedly short stacked for much of the day but sensed weakness in the Mets' beat writer's confidence. Murphy got a hot hand late, went all in, and the Mets' guy folded on the river.

Okay, that was bad. Sorry. A roundup of much of what the babes at the Spearmint Rhino have been chatting about below.

With real news being slow out of the first day in Vegas, we enjoyed Scott Lauber dubbing Ruben Amaro's new management team "Amaro's Eleven." Whether they have any skill at robbing other teams remains to be seen. We heard there's an easy target down in Houston. [News Journal]

He also throws out the familiar name of Randy Wolf as an option if they can't make Moyer happy. No thanks. [News Journal]

Expect Uncle Cholly to get the contract extension he deserves. [Inquirer]

Jamie Moyer, while haggling with the Phillies over money, is chatting with other clubs. I'll be surprised if he ends up with another team. The Phils and his agent are likely trying to play hardball. [ESPN]

The Mets are going after K-Rod as one of their closer options and reportedly offered him a three year deal. [Metsblog]

The Phillies are supposedly inquiring about Twins OF Delmon Young. [Daily News]

Matt Rhule's first Baylor hires include 4 Temple assistants

Matt Rhule's first Baylor hires include 4 Temple assistants

WACO, Texas -- New Baylor coach Matt Rhule has made some immediate Texas connections by hiring the president of the state's high school coaches who is a former Bears receiver.

Rhule announced his first five hires with the Bears on Friday, three days after being named Baylor's coach. They include four members from his staff at Temple and David Wetzel, the head coach and athletic director the past 13 seasons at Ronald Reagan High School in San Antonio.

Sean Padden will serve as Baylor's director of football operations, similar to his role at Temple the past four years.

Rhule didn't immediately announce the titles and job duties for Wetzel, Francis Brown, Mike Siravo and Evan Cooper. There was also no indication of when the rest of his staff would be completed.

Brown and Siravo were defensive assistants at Temple, and Cooper was director of player personnel for the Owls.

Wetzel, who has coached in the state high school ranks for 25 years, was serving as president of the Texas High School Football Coaches Association. He lettered at Baylor in 1990 and 1991 while playing for Grant Teaff, and also earned a master's degree from the school in 1994. Before Reagan, he was head coach at schools in Killeen and Austin.

Wetzel told the Waco Tribune-Herald that he expects to play a major role in recruiting, but didn't know yet if he'd be coaching offense or defense.

"Given the opportunity, it's really a unique deal," Wetzel told the newspaper. "I feel like it's God's timing for me to be in the right place at the right time."

When Rhule was introduced Wednesday in Waco, he said he had already received about 480 text messages, many from coaches. He also didn't rule out the possibility of some of the current Baylor assistants staying, but said he hadn't had a chance to meet with them. Those assistants were retained from former coach Art Briles' staff with Jim Grobe as acting head coach this season.

NoteBaylor announced Friday that Jalen Pitre, a defensive back from Stafford, Texas, signed a financial aid agreement that will allow him to enroll for the spring 2017 semester after graduating from high school early. Before Rhule was hired, Pitre was the only player verbally committed for Baylor's recruiting class in February. He had 83 tackles, six interceptions and four forced fumbles as a senior.

Dorial Green-Beckham didn't support any charity with his cleats last Sunday.

In reality, he was funding the NFL.

The Eagles' receiver was fined $6,076 by the NFL for wearing Yeezy cleats (Kanye West's shoes), which had no affiliation to a charitable organization or cause, CSNPhilly.com has confirmed. Players around the NFL last weekend wore decorative spikes supporting a charity or cause they felt passionately about as part of the league's My Cleats, My Cause promotion. Green-Beckham was fined because his cleats were unapproved by the league; earlier this season Houston receiver DeAndre Hopkins was fined for wearing Yeezy cleats.